Magick
The Tellurian The Sundering took place at the beginning of the Iron Age around 1000 BC. The Tellurian was a complete and singular reality during the Mythic Age but was then rendered into supernal realms including: *Arcadia & the surrounding Dreaming *Gaia & the surrounding Umbra *Malfeus & the surrounding Abyss *Annwn and the surrounding Shadow *Yr Nefoedd & the surrounding Aether The Living Lands The mortal or terrestrial world can be considered its own unique realm. It is separated from the Near Dreaming by the Mists, from the Penumbra by the Gauntlet, from the Shadowlands by the Shroud. The Shattering in the 1300s caused many of the Fae to flee to Arcadia and the gateways connecting the two realms closed from over 600 years. Many other types of spirits went into torporous slumber at that time. Without spiritual predation, human population exploded (despite plague, famine and war). Then in July 20, 1969 with the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Resurgence took place. The gates from Arcadia temporarily reopened and several houses of Sidhe returned with vague memories of exile or a war they were escaping. The Resurgence was caused by more than simply the moon landing; it was the changing human paradigm. The embrace of postmodernity by human had an unexpected result: arcaic spirits began to reawaken in many places. More shifters and kithain began to be born and have successful First Changes and Crysallis. The End of Days- Or Not In canonical World of Darkness, 1993-1995 was the Time of Judgement and the last oWOD source books were published. These books are not used in CC. Instead of a focus on Apocalypse, CC looks at the mortal world having increasing reconnection with the supernal realms for good and ill. There is a new struggle between humanity and the supernatural and between different realms. Humanity is starting to wake up and discover the supernatural again- and they have good cause to be afraid. The Metaphysics of Magic & Spirits Glamour Glamour fuels and animates the Fae. It flows from the Dreaming, sometimes showing up in strange places and unexpected people. It is capricious, fickle and in constant flux. Kithain and sentient chimera can both harvest it to sustain themselves, convert it into dross and weave it into cantrips. Gnosis Gnosis is the life force of Gaia. It emanates from Gaia in the form of spirits. It is drawn upon by the shifters in similar manners as kithain use glamour. However, Garou cannot weave gnosis without being taught how by spirits. They can also bind spirits into talons and fetishes. Mana Mana is the life-energy that emanates from people, animals and plants. It is often thought of as their spirit. All humans have mana but most of them do not know how to perform magic or utilize psychic gifts. Magick is the art of willfully but indirectly cause change in self or something/someone else. It tends to be done through prayer and ritual. Psychics, on the other hand, don't always willfully use their extrasensory abilities- they may simply activate unconsciously. Blood & Pathos When vampires are feeding from blood, they are actually harvesting the mana. Vampires are Undead, no longer producing thier own mana. Using their vampiric disciplines causes them to expend that ingested blood-mana. Older vampires are able to store more mana than young vampires but eventually lose the ability to sustain themselves from ordinary human blood and need the more mana-rich blood of supernatural creatures and powerful sorcerers and psychics. Ghosts do not produce mana and have to either steal it from the living via charms or feed from pathos- the energy of human emotion which is very similar in nature to glamour. Some types of Fae- the servants of the Dark-- are able to feed from pathos as well as glamour: Fomorians, Nervosa, Nocnitsa and other nightmares. Banes can also feed from pathos as well as gnosis. It is possible for a vampire to drink blood while a victim is also being ravaged for glamour by a kithain and ravaged for pathos by a ghost, bane or nervosa. Such acts are sometimes done in celebratory rituals by the Midnight Court. Pacts & Possession All spirits, including demons and angels can make pacts with humans, metahumans and vampires which allow spirits to infuse with humans and utilize them as vessels or avatars. The Garou, however, can only make pacts with the Umbrood and in some cases Chimera. They can be willingly or unwillingly possessed by wyld, weaver and wyrm spirits. Changelings can swear oaths that work in some ways like spirit pacts but they cannot be possessed- the Changeling Way is a form of possession itself. Its theoretically possible that a powerful spirit (like an angel or demon) could possess a kithain but that would cause their vessel to be Undone. Nodes Before the Sundering, there was no distinction between glamour, gnosis, mana, pathos. The metaphysics of the Mythic Age were dramatically different than they are now. Nodes are fonts of raw primal energy. KIthain can draw glamour from them either in their natural form of glades or via the construction of balefires and freeholds. Garou can draw gnosis from them and create caerns where totem spirits are able to nest. Metahumans can use them to create their own places of power such as shrines, groves, and circles. Haunts Some nodes also have a weakened Shroud and attract ghosts from the shadowlands or even (much more rarely) demons from the abyss. The Black Labyrinth is one of the most infamous such locations. It existed before the Sundering. Most haunts are small, between the size of a room to a castle or an estate. Haunts can be converted to freeholds, caerns/hives and groves/circles but will have an affinity towards death and darkness. Ghosts vs. Ancestor Spirits Garou are capable of becoming ancestor spirits; they do not become ghosts. Ancestor spirits are part of the Umbrood but they do have some limited access to the Shadowlands. Ancestor spirits feed from gnosis not pathos. Humans and metahumans often call revered ghosts their ancestors or ancestor spirits which can lead to confusion, however. Wandering Moon Caern Wandering Moon rests upon the most powerful node in the region. The caern there originally belonged to the White Howlers not the Fianna though this is not a fact that most Garou are aware of. The heart of the caern is a bryn celli ddu which allowed the tribe enter the dark umbra to communicate with ancestor spirits and take moon bridges to the Spiral Labryinth for rites of passage. There was also a moon bridge to the caern now guarded by the Spider Lightning sept, which also belonged to the White Howlers. The caern also has a dormant trod which is what opened during the Resurgence. The energies are extremely lunar and dark. go to the Main Caerleon Page